Improved mode of connecting trucks to locomotives



2 Sheets-Shet l. W. S.'HUDSON.

Car Truck.

No. 42,193?`- Patented Apr. 5, 1864.

N PErERs, Piloto-mamma, msmnsron. D. c. )fr 1i 2 Sh t-A I t2. w.s.vHUDSON. ees Shea fCalrTruck.r No. 42,4193, :Patented Aipr. 5, 1864.

| l I 1% |I l @l N. PETERS. PHTO-LITNOGHAPHER, WASHINGTON. DvC. XL

Nrran raras VILLIAM S. HUDSON, OF PATERSON, JERSEY.

IMPROVED MODE OF CONNECTING TRUCKS TG LOCOIVOTIVES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. HUDsoN, of Paterson, in the county ofPassaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Means of Connecting Trucks to Locomotives; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof.

he accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, and:represent the novel parts, with so much of the locomotive as isnecessary to understand fully its constructionA and operation. l

Figure l is a central longitudinal vertical section through the truckand its attachments. Fig. 2 is a central vertical transverse sectionthrough the same parts. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the truck and itsconnections, and represents also the driving wheels and axles. Fig. 4 isa diagram showing the relations of the centers a-ud center lines on ashort curve. Fig. 5 is a correspon ding dia gram, showingthe relationson a curve of larger radius.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the drawings.

Tints are employed to aid in distinguishing parts, and do not implydifferences in material. The material of the whole may be iron or steel.

The inventions of Levi Bissell and others, several of which` have beenpatented at different times, provide for allowing a side movement ofthelocomotive upon the truck, on entering curves in the road, and also givea tendency in the locomotive to keep the center line of the truck whentraveling on a straight track. Mr. Bissell also provides for pivotingthe truck to a fixed point on the lo comotive by means of an armextending a considerable distance to the rear. It is found in practiceand can be demonstrated by mathematics that a truck thus pivoted, andwith the locomotive allowed to move sidewise upon the truck, theadjustment will be very perfect for a certain amount of curvature; butit is the fact on most railroads, if not on all of any considerablelength, that the curves are not of uniform radius, but vary verygreatly. Mr. Bissells device answered admirably for a straight track,and for one variety of curve; but for all curves greater or less thanthat for which the machine is con` structed such a device is at fault.

My invention is intended to realize all the advantages of Mr. Bissells,and to allow thc machine to adapt itself to all varieties of curve whichare met with in ordinary practice.

To enable others skilled Vin the art to make anduse myinvention, l willproceed to describe it by the aid of the drawings and the letters ofreference marked thereon.

A is the framing or the main body of the locomotive. B is the framing ormain body of the truck. C is an intermediate casting, and D is aking-bolt, which passes down through the parts and performs its ordinaryfunction. The truck B is provided with a stoutcenter plate, b, which isheld central and allowed to turn with tolerable freedom under theintermediate casting, G,in the manner rep resented.

C is formed on ils upper surface-in the manner represented, and adaptedto support the locomotive on the two doublenclined planes presented.This is very closely analogous to the arrangement of the inclined planesdescribed in Mr. Bissells patent, above referred to, and which is datedAugust 4, 1857. It ditfers,however, in thefact that the piece C, onwhich the double inclined planes are formed, is not, asin Mr. Bissellsinvention, fixed rigidly to the truck, but is allowed to swivel there onby turning on the center plate, b. The forward end ofthe locomotive onstriking a curve moves sidewise, and in doing so climbs up the inclinedplanes, and on leaving the curve and again entering on a straight partof the road it slides down again to the position represented, the actionin this respect being similar to that in Mr. Bissells device.

B is a projection or stout extension from the rear ofthe truck B. I tsextremity is adapted to receive a pin, E, which secures to it the rearextremity of a stout link or radius-bar, G. The forward end of this barG is connected by a corresponding pin, H, to the lugs a, as reprcsented.These lugs a are fixed to the framing or body of the locomotive, and bythe aid of the link G and the pins E and H serve to relieve tbe centerbearing of the truck from all or nearly all of the strain duc to theforward and backward motion of the engine. In running forward, thestrain on the link G is tensile, and in running backward it isthrusting; but in all ordinary cases these strains are not severe. y

M M are stout arms extending downward from the. stoutcross-bar n1, whichis attached to the frame A. They aref connected by the cross part N,which stands beneath the link G, as represented. The arms or stops M arewider apart than the breadth of the link. G, and allow a limited play ofthis link from sido to side; but they are of sufficient strength toresist the strain, when in consequence of aninequality in the track, orof any serious derange'- ment of the action, the truck endeavors to turnitselftoo'far around on its center bearing. In other words, the arms M Mallow the truck to vibrate or swivel as far as is ever necessary inpractice on the shortest curves, but forbid its turning any farther thanis so required. The horizontal parts m and N also allow some tilting orvertical oscillation of the truck, but forbid this motion extendingbeyond certain very narrow limits. In case the rear end of the trucktends to tip down too low, it is restrained by the contact of the link Gwith the cross part N, and in case the rear end ofthe truck tends tolift too high, the motion is rcstrainedby the contact of the link G withthe cross-bar m.

All the pins may be secured by nuts, split keys, or other well-knownmeans, and the center .bearing of my truck, as also the eyes or jointsat E and H and the inclined planes on the top of C, may be lubricated byany ordinary means.

' The diagrams 4' and 5 illustrate the positions 4of-the parts on curvesof different radius.

They are intended to show the importance of my invention in allowing therear center E to vibrate freely between the limits M M. In thesediagrams the black dotted lines show the curvature of the road. The redline shows the center line ofthe engine, and the blue line the centerline of the truck. It will be observed that thc position of the pin E isconsiderably one side from the center line of the engine. This indicatesthe amount of play or lateral motion which is required to give perfectfreedom to the truck on curves up to these degrees, with the center E ina position no farther in the rear of the truck than is here represented.I can by extending the arm or projection B', and lengthening the link Gso as .to carry the back center E farther rearward on the machine,finally reach a point where a less degree of play will suffice but itwill be observed that the blue line, which indicates the center line ofthe truck prolonged, does not cross the red line, which indicates thecenter line of the engine at the same point when traversing on the twodifferent curves, so that there cannot be found any point where thecenter E may be held absolutely rigid without impair-ing the freedom ofmotion Yin traversing curves of various radii. If all the curves on aroad were of uniform radiussayaradius of five hundred feet-the pointwhere the center line of the truck crosses the center line ofthe enginein Fig. 3 might be fixed so as to hold the extended rear arm of thetruck in a fixed position on the body of the locomotive, and the effectwould, in such case, be perfectly correct after al curve had been fairlyentered on, and of course would be correct in traversing straight lines;but there are no such roads, and if there were the action of such amachine would stillbc imperfect in entering upon and leaving curvls. Myinvention provides. for all thesevarieties of situation.

Some of the advantages due to certain features of my invention maybe'separately enumerated, as follows: First, by reason of the freedomvfor a slight play or lateral movement of the arm B', extending rearwardfrom the truck, as represented, in combination with the lateralmovements of the locomotive upon the truck, my parts are compelledtoassume very nearly the correct positions, but are allowed sufficientfreedom to adjust themselves with absolute nicety to every variety ofconditions; second, by reason of my link G, arranged as described, incombination with the above, I- relieve the inclined planes and thecenter bearing D, 85e., from all undue fore-and-aft strain, and am ableto workv forward or backward over all ordinary inequalities andobstacles without danger of fracture or derangemeut; third, by reason ofthe limited freedom for vertical oscillations of my truck, attained asdescribed, I provide for accommodating the truck to all the ordinaryinequalities of the road without allowing the violent oscillations andplunges to which some kinds of truck, absolutely free in this respect,are liable to be subjected; fourth, by reason of my swivel-piece C beingmounted centrally upon the truck, and arranged to receive and supportthe weight of the forward end of the locomotive, in the mannerdescribed, I am able to adapt trucks which have been already constructedin the ordinary manner to allow the side motion of the locomotive uponthem with much less labor and expense than by any means previouslyknown, and in the manufacture of new locomotives or trucks am able todispense with much Weight by reason that the two hearing-points X X maybe nearer together than is allowable in Mr. Bissells or any otherpreviouslyknown device for the purpose, and I insure that the Weight ofthe forward portion of the locomotive is thrown, under all conditions,upon the center of the truck. Mr. Bissell provided a swiveling piecebetween his truck and the forward end of the locomotive; but it swiveledon a king-bolt or center, which was not xed relatively to the truck,but, on the contrary, was fixed relatively to the locomotive. Itfollowed, from his defective arrangement of these parts, that theforward end of the locomotive was always supported on a pintle orbearing directly under its center line; but the weight was thrown uponthe truck at points which shifted toward one side or the other withevery movement of the locomotive thereupon. I believe such a shifting ofthe weight alternately from one side to the other on the truck to be avery serious evil, while the supporting of the front end ofthelocomotive by a point directly under its center was but a slightadvantage. My invention, by reversing these conditions, involves a veryimportantimprovement. I throw tl e weight always on the center of thetruck, and, although this involves an apparent evil, by supporting thefront end of the locomotive on a point which changes alternately fromside to side, this evil is so slight as to be almost or quiteinappreciable, and is practically of no im portance. The rear and mainportions of thelocomotive are very efficiently supported on the four ormore driving wheels, and the change ot' the point of support a fewinches to one side or the other ofthe center line at the forward endproduces no sensible effect on the drivers, and even if it should, thelatter are so guided, provided the truck keeps the track, that no evilcan result therefrom 5 but the ability of the truck to keep the trackand the freeing of this important member as far as possible fromdisturbing intluen ces is a point of immense importance, involving thelives,

inmany instances, of a great number of passengers. The old arrangements,by shifting the weight 1o one side, did impair, I think, very seriouslythe ability of the truck to keep the track, and this evil, especially inpassing a broken rail or any seriously-detective point in the track,became very disastrous. The

diiference between my invention and the old arrangement of these partsis sufficient to, in many instances, turn the scale, or decide thequestion whether an expresstrain running at full speed over a certainimperfection in the road shall maintain its position and pass unharmedor shall leap from the track and canse great destruction.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new inlocomotives, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. An arm, B', extending rearward from the truck and confined betweenlimiits,so as to allow a slight freedom for the swiveling motions ofthetruck, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. In combination with the above, the employment of the link G, pivotedto the rear end of the arm B and to a fixed point, H, upon the body ofthe locomotive, and arranged to operate substantially in t-he `mannerand for the purpose herein set forth.

3. In combination with the limited freedom for vibrations of the arm B',the employment ofthe cross parts m and N, adapted to allow a limitedfreedom for vertical vibrations or oscillations of the truck,substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

4. In locomotives, the employment of the intermediate piece, C, or itsequivalent, connected by a swiveljoint to the truck, and arranged tooperate substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name inthe presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM S. HUDSON.

Witnesses:

THOMAS D. S'rETsoN, W. A. HENDRIcKsoN.

